Cup holder for a vehicle

ABSTRACT

A cup holder for a vehicle is mounted in the vehicle for supporting a cup. The cup holder includes a housing mounted on a wall portion of the cup holder, which has a receiving groove for receiving a cup. The housing includes a first guide groove formed therein, a guide movably mounted in the housing so as to enter and exit from the first guide groove, the guide having a second guide groove corresponding to the first guide groove, and a spring for restricting the guide from entering and exiting from the first guide groove of the housing. Even if excessive force is applied to the cup guide when the cup is inserted into the cup holder, an upper portion of the guide is prevented from departing from the housing, so that the cup holder can safely support the cup.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based on and claims priority to Korean Patent Application 10-2005-0092430 filed in the Korean Intellectual Property Office on Sep. 30, 2005, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a cup holder for a vehicle, and more particularly to a cup holder for a vehicle, which includes a guide with an upper portion that is attached to the cupholder, so as to support a cup safely even though an excessive operational force is applied to the guide when a cup is seated in the cup holder for the vehicle.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In general, cup holders are mounted between a driver's seat and a passenger's seat to receive a cup containing a beverage after the driver and the passenger begin drinking beverage and water. The cup holder is provided with a cup guide mounted thereto for supporting a cup seated in the cup holder.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An embodiment of the present invention is provided in which a cup holder includes a guide having a departure prevention structure formed at the upper portion of the guide and a spring disposed in the guide such that an upper portion of the guide may be rotably affixed to the cup holder and may safely support a cup even when an excessive force is applied to the guide after the cup is seated in the cup holder.

There is also provided a cup holder of a vehicle which supports a cup that includes: a housing mounted on a wall portion of the cup holder which has a receiving groove for receiving a cup, which has a first guide groove formed therein; a guide movably mounted in the housing so as to enter and exit from the first guide groove, which has a second guide groove corresponding to the first guide groove; and a spring for restricting the guide from entering and exiting from the first guide groove of the housing.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the housing includes: guide slots with a predetermined length horizontally integrated to both sides of the housing; a support protruding from an upper portion of the housing; a seating groove formed at a predetermined depth in the upper portion of the housing; and combination guiding portions formed at a front portion of the both sides of the housing to be inclined outwardly so that the guide is easily combined with the housing.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the guide includes: a departure prevention element hingedly received in the seating groove of the housing; spring fixing protrusions formed at a predetermined distance to each other on both sides of the guide so as to receive the spring; movable shafts moving along the guide slots reciprocally; and an extension formed on a front wall of the guide, for restricting the guide from moving.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, extension grooves may be formed at lower portions of the guide to extend a time of contacting to the housing when the guide rotates. The guide may be coupled to the housing by the departure prevention element and a connecting member in order to freely rotate. The movable shafts of the guide may have incline surfaces corresponding to the combination guiding portions at ends of the movable shafts. The spring may include a torsion spring. The spring has one end supported by a front wall of the housing and the other end supported by the extension for restricting the guide from moving.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will be more apparent from the following detailed description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the cup holder for a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which a cup has been inserted into the cup holder;

FIG. 2 is a magnified perspective view showing a guide applied to a cup holder for a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing the guide of the cup holder according to on embodiment of the present invention before a cup is inserted; and

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the guide of the cup holder according to one embodiment of the present invention after a cup is inserted.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, a cup holder for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the cup holder for a vehicle according to one embodiment of the present invention, in which the cup is inserted in the cup holder. FIG. 2 is a magnified perspective view showing a guide applied to a cup holder for a vehicle according to the present invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a guide of the cup holder according to the present invention before the insertion of a cup. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the guide of the cup holder according to the present invention after the insertion of the cup.

The cup holder 1 according to one embodiment of the present invention includes a cylindrical receiving groove 2 defined by a wall portion 3 and a bottom portion 3-1, a housing 10, a guide 20, and a spring 30, as shown in FIG. 1.

A plurality of housings 10 are mounted at predetermined distances in the wall portion 3 of the cup holder 1. The wall portion 3 of the cup holder 1 forms the cylindrical receiving groove 2 which is configured to receive a cup 9 and has a first guide groove 12 from which the guide 20 may enter and exit.

As shown in FIG. 2, each housing 10 includes guide slots 11 with a predetermined length horizontally integrated to both side walls of the housing 10, a support 13 protruded on an upper portion of the housing 10, a seating groove 14 formed on the support 13 at a predetermined depth, and combination guide portions 15 formed at the front of both side walls of the housing 10 configured so that guide 20 to be easily enter and be coupled to the guide slots 11. The guide slots 11 help to direct the guide 20 into the housing 10 by when an operating force F is applied as the cup 9 inserted into the receiving groove 2.

When a cup 9 is placed into the cylindrical receiving groove 2 of the cup holder 1, the guide 20 is subjected to the force applied by the vertical wall of the cup and may move into the first guide groove 12 of the housing 10. At the same time, a protrusion 29 of the guide 20 is pushed down to provide a certain space in which the cup 9 is introduced. While the cup 9 is seated in the cup holder 1, the spring 30 is configured to compel the guide 20 to return to its initial position as shown in FIG. 3. As a result, the force applied by the guide 20 to the vertical wall of the cup 9 helps to tightly secure the cup 9 within the cylindrical receiving groove 2 of the cup holder 1.

As seen in FIGS. 2-4, a support 13 is formed on the upper portion of the housing 10. The support 13 includes a seating groove 14 with a predetermined depth and an opening at its upper portion. The seating groove 14 of the support 13 is configured to receive a departure prevention element 21, which pivotally affixes the guide 20 to the housing 10, so as to prevent the guide from departing from the housing 10 due to the operating force of the cup 9. That is, the departure prevention element 21 and the seating groove 14 functions as a hinge allowing the guide 20 to smoothly pivot about the departure prevention element 21.

Combination guide portions 15 are formed at a front portion of both side walls of the housing 10, which allows shafts 26 of the guide 20 to enter into and move along the guide slots 11. The guide 20 may move forward and backward along the guide slots 11 when the operating force of the cup 9 is applied and may support the cup 9 safely seated in the receiving groove 2.

As seen in FIGS. 2-4, the guide 20 includes the departure prevention element 21 hingedly coupled to the seating groove 14 of the housing 10, spring mounts 24 formed on both internal side walls of the guide 20, the shafts 26 movable along the guide slots 11, and an extension 28 formed on a front wall of the guide 20.

The guide 20 is configured to fit within the housing 10 and is able to enter and exit from the first groove 12 of the housing 10. The guide 20 is also coupled to the housing 10 to be inserted in the first groove 12 of the housing 10. That is, as the departure prevention element 21 of the guide 20 is hingedly coupled to the seating groove 12 of the housing 10, the guide 20 can pivotally mounted to the housing 10 in order to enter and exit from the first guide groove 12 of the housing 10.

The departure prevention element 21 is connected to the guide 20, fits within the seating groove 14 of the upper portion of the housing 10, and is configured to freely rotate within the seating groove 14. The departure prevention element 21 is connected to the guide 20 by a connecting member 23.

Spring mounts 24 are formed at a predetermined distance on both internal side walls of the guide 20 and is configured to support the spring 30. In one embodiment, the spring mounts 24 maintain the distance d, which is enough to easily mount and separate the spring 30 from the spring mounts 24.

The shafts 26 are configured to prevent the guide 20 from departing from the housing 10 due to the operating force F of the cup 9. In one embodiment, the ends of the shafts 26 of the guide 20 has an inclined surface 27 formed to correspond to the combination guide portion 15 of the housing 10 having an outward inclined surface.

The extension groove 25 is configured to allow the guide 20 to pivot about the departure prevention element 21 to the maximum extent when the cup 9 is seated in the receiving groove 2, thereby delaying the time that the guide 20 comes into contact with the housing 10.

When the spring 30 is mounted between the spring mounts 24 is retracted by the downward operating force of the cup, the extension 28 formed on the front wall of the guide 10 supports the spring 30 in order to increase elasticity of the spring 30, so that the guide 20 supports the cup 9 seated in the receiving groove 2. The spring 30 restricts the guide 20 to enter and exit from the first guide groove 12 of the housing 10, which includes a torsion spring.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 the spring 30 has one end supported by the front wall of the housing 10 and the other end supported by the extension 28. When the guide 20 is subjected to the downward operating force of the cup 9 to enter the housing 10, the one end of spring 30 supported by the front wall of the housing 10 moves down while the other end of the spring 30 supported by the extension 28 is further retracted Therefore, while the cup 9 is seated in the receiving groove 2 of the cup holder 1, the spring 30 absorbs the operating force F in order for the guide 20 to easily move into the housing 10. To the contrary, when the cup 9 is removed from the receiving groove 2, the spring 30 forces the guide 20 to easily return to the initial position (see FIGS. 3 and 4).

As shown in figures, when a cup 9 is inserted into the cup holder, the upper portion of the guide 20 is subjected to the operating force F, so that the guide 20 is pushed within the housing 10. The guide 20 is subjected to the operating force F, rotates and comes down while moving into the first guide groove 12 of the housing 10, thereby supplying a space for the cup so that the cup 9 can be received in the space. The downward movement of the guide 20 is controlled by the departure prevention element 21 hingedly coupled to the seating groove 14. On the other hand, when the cup 9 is removed from the receiving groove 2 of the cup holder 1, the guide 20 is returned to the initial position by the spring 30 mounted at an intermediate portion of the guide 20.

In the cup holder, according to one embodiment of the present invention, since the guide is coupled to the supporting member of the housing by the departure prevention element 21 of the guide 20, the guide 20 is prevented from departing from the housing even if excessive force is applied to the rotating guide while the cup 9 is placed inside the receiving groove 2 of the cup holder 1.

While a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. 

1. A cup holder for a vehicle, comprising: a housing mounted on a wall portion of the cup holder which has a receiving groove for receiving a cup wherein the housing comprises a first guide groove formed therein; a guide movably mounted in the housing so as to enter and exit from the first guide groove wherein the guide comprises a second guide groove corresponding to the first guide groove; and a spring for restricting the guide from entering and exiting from the first guide groove of the housing.
 2. The cup holder for a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the housing comprises: guide slots with a predetermined length horizontally integrated to both sides of the housing; a support protruded on an upper portion of the housing; a seating groove formed at a predetermined depth in the upper portion of the housing; and combination guiding portions formed at a front portion of the both sides of the housing such that the guide is combined with the housing.
 3. The cup holder for a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the guide comprises a departure preventing element hingedly received in the seating groove of the housing, spring fixing protrusions formed at a predetermined distance to each other on both sides of the guide so as to receive the spring, movable shafts moving along the guide slots reciprocally, and an extension formed on a front wall of the guide, for restricting the guide from moving.
 4. The cup holder for a vehicle as claimed in claim 2, wherein the guide comprises a departure preventing element hingedly received in the seating groove of the housing, spring fixing protrusions formed at a predetermined distance to each other on both sides of the guide so as to receive the spring, movable shafts moving along the guide slots reciprocally, and an extension formed on a front wall of the guide, for restricting the guide from moving.
 5. The cup holder for a vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein extension grooves are formed at lower portions of the guide.
 6. The cup holder for a vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the guide is rotatably coupled to the housing by the departure prevention element and a connecting member.
 7. The cup holder for a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the movable shafts of the guide have incline surfaces corresponding to the combination guiding portions at ends of the movable shafts.
 8. The cup holder for a vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the movable shafts of the guide have incline surfaces corresponding to the combination guiding portions at ends of the movable shafts.
 9. The cup holder for a vehicle as claimed in claim 3, wherein the spring has one end supported by a front wall of the housing and the other end supported by the extension for restricting the guide from moving.
 10. The cup holder for a vehicle as claimed in claim 1, wherein the spring includes a torsion spring. 